UCF student to be deported for ‘disturbing behavior,’ firearm purchases

A 26-year-old UCF international student who owned high-powered rifles and displayed “disturbing behavior” is in the process of being deported.

Wenliang Sun is being deported to China after he made “unusual statements” to a Global UCF counselor in January, according to a Thursday press release from UCF Police Department spokeswoman Courtney Gilmartin.

Sun told the counselor he owned a high-powered firearm — an LWRC 300 Blackout rifle — and ammunition, according to a UCF PD report filed by UCF PD Detective Luis Rivera. The counselor also noted significant changes in the student’s appearance and behavior, the report states.

Sun is detained and awaiting deportation at the Baker County Detention Center in North Florida, according to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement database.

Sun is a nonimmigrant F-1 international student in an academic and cultural program at UCF. Once authorized by the U.S. government, an F-1 Student Visa allows individuals to enter the United States as a full-time student in a program working toward a degree, diploma or certificate, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The release says Sun refused to give his weapon to UCF PD for safekeeping when they contacted him on Feb. 2. Sun told officers that he stored his weapon in a public storage facility.

According to investigation reports, Sun’s “disturbing behavior,” including spending nearly $70,000 on a new Chevy Corvette, a purchase that alarmed his friends and roommates.

When Rivera asked Sun about the Corvette during a Feb. 2 interview, Sun said he paid $68,000 for the vehicle and said “In my country that is a cheap car,” according to the report.

On Feb. 7, Sun purchased a second firearm, a .308 Ruger Precision Rifle that he legally modified with a bipod and scope. A bipod is an attachment that allows the user to rest the gun on a surface to improve stability and accuracy.

UCF PD found the second gun purchase to be “particularly alarming” and then reported Sun to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, according to the release.

Wenliang Sun’s .308 Ruger Precision Rifle. Photo courtesy of UCF PD.

Sun’s nonimmigrant status was terminated for failing to attend classes, a requirement of an F-1 international student.

Sun had been legally allowed to own the guns because of his hunting license. With his nonimmigrant status terminated, the guns became illegal. Sun was taken into custody on Feb. 7 for violating the terms of his student visa and potentially violating federal firearms laws, the release states.

On March 21, Sun was ordered back to China by an immigration judge for not complying with the terms of his nonimmigrant status. As part of this order, Sun will not be allowed to return to the United States for at least a decade, the press release states.

Sun did not threaten UCF or anyone at the school, but the combination of “troubling factors” warranted a police investigation, according to a Thursday statement from UCF PD’s Facebook.

“Law enforcement and the concerned community in this case, showed that the campaign for ‘See Something, Say Something’ is much more than just words,” Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Daryl McCrary said in a release.